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Hill Criticizes LPD Robbery Investigation

Officer who took report called as defense witness

By MATTHEW PLEASANT & JEREMY MAREADYTHE LEDGER

Published: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 2:38 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 7:57 a.m.

LAKELAND | Chief Lisa Womack left her meeting with State Attorney Jerry Hill on Friday carrying yet another letter from the prosecutor criticizing what he calls an insufficient investigation by the Lakeland Police Department that he blames for an acquittal in a robbery case.

The missive details the police department's work following the June 2012 theft of an antique but operable firearm from a Lakeland pawnshop. The business owner told an officer that two young men smashed a glass case, rummaged through the guns sitting inside and stole one.

Hill criticized the department for a litany of issues, most of them related to an officer's initial investigation. According to his letter, the officer missed evidence, inaccurately recorded details from the business owner's account of the crime and classified it as a misdemeanor with no intention of following up with more investigation.

An arrest was made in the case about six months later, after the business owner contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office. At the trial this week, the prosecution's case hinged on the owner's identification of a suspect, Sedrick Johnson Jr., 21, from a photo lineup. The defense relied on Officer Nicholas Pollice, who conducted the initial investigation, as its lead witness.

"As you know, it is often difficult to prove criminal cases involving victim identification," Hill wrote in his letter. "It is especially difficult when a police officer is called as a witness in a trial by the defendant against the state. Officer Pollice's testimony was used by the defense attorney as a way to question the credibility of the victim in the case."

The problems with the investigation were not lost on jurors during the trial Wednesday. Juror Faye Hudson of Winter Haven told The Ledger after the trial that almost all six jurors cited the apparent poor quality of the LPD investigation during their deliberation.

"We just felt there was no investigation at all," she said. "We all felt this was a waste of the court's time."

THE MEETING

Hill handed the letter to Womack during their meeting Friday at the State Attorney's Office. State Attorney's Office spokesman Brian Haas declined to discuss the details of the conversation but confirmed the robbery investigation did come up.

Womack did not respond to a request to discuss the letter. However, she briefly addressed reporters outside the State Attorney's Office immediately after the meeting, calling the conversation positive.

"We're all on the same page," she said.

The meeting came after two Lakeland city commissioners, Howard Wiggs and Don Selvage, urged Womack to talk with Hill after he hand-delivered a scathing letter to her about the department June 25, detailing an investigation by his office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that uncovered widespread sexual misconduct in the agency.

Lakeland lawyer Bob Puterbaugh, who had arranged the talk between Womack and Hill, stayed outside the meeting, she said, and was not acting as her lawyer.

"Mr. Puterbaugh didn't come as my attorney," she said. "I've know him for a while, and he's known the State Attorney for 40 years and he wasn't here representing me as an attorney at all. He just drove down with me and sat in the lobby."

LPD INVESTIGATION

In his letter, Hill criticized Officer Pollice for spending little more than an hour investigating the crime and failing to take pictures of the damaged glass case from which the gun was stolen. Pollice also did not collect an old electric iron used to smash open the case as evidence, nor was the item checked for fingerprints. And he did not collect a written or taped statement from the business owner, Mark Williams, Hill states.

In his report on the crime, Pollice wrote that Williams didn't know for certain a gun was stolen from his store, even though he also wrote that Williams could describe certain details about the weapon's appearance. Pollice states Williams could not describe the firearm "with confidence or at least with confidence that an item was stolen outside of his speculation." For that reason, Pollice wrote, he decided to classify it as criminal mischief.

Williams contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office in November after seeing news reports about deputies investigating a robbery attempt and shooting at a Lakeland farmers' market, according to Hill. A deputy developed Sedrick Johnson as a suspect. Hill notes in his letter that Johnson is a relative of one of the farmers' market shooting suspects.

Williams testified at trial that Johnson was among a group of teenagers who had frequented his store in the weeks preceding the robbery.

The young men would ask questions about a $300 antique gun in a glass case. In the robbery that occurred, the young men took the same antique gun, Williams testified, plucking it from among firearms worth hundreds more.

Hill noted other problems that went beyond the initial investigation. LPD Detective Christina Barrett never mentioned in a report that she had recorded an interview with Johnson after his arrest, he said. She didn't disclose the recording until the day before trial. Barrett also failed to hand over a Miranda rights waiver, a form that a suspect signs acknowledging that he or she has signed away certain rights, including the right to remain silent.

"Much to the surprise of prosecutors (and with no notice to the state), Detective Barrett arrived with the Miranda Rights Waiver form the morning of the trial with no explanation of why she wasn't able to find it the day before in the LPD evidence room," the letter states.

Barrett also mistakenly noted on a report that the stolen firearm has been recovered, he said, and only corrected it after the State Attorney's Office brought it to her attention.

Williams spoke to The Ledger on Friday at his business, Lakeland Gun and Pawn Shop at 701 S. Florida Ave. He thinks the police department realized the difficulty it would have solving the case, he said, and that factored into its decision to classify the case as a lesser crime.

"It's unfortunate that LPD wouldn't do more initially and it was written off," Williams said.

The length of time it took to make an arrest, and the acquittal, didn't seem to bother him.

"I'm 57. You can't be old and bitter," he said. "It was a mistake. I don't think it was a malicious issue."

THE TRIAL

At trial, lawyers did not explicitly address problems with Lakeland Police Department's investigative work. Rather, the issue of whether it was sufficient became a subtext in closing arguments and at certain points in testimony.

Assistant State Attorney Brenda Ramirez asked Officer Pollice whether it would have been better to take pictures of the crime scene when he initially investigated in June 2012, instead of six months later when the Sheriff's Office became involved.

"Hypothetically," Pollice said, "it would have been better."

Questions by Ramirez underscored some of the same issues raised in Hill's letter. In her closing arguments, she told jurors LPD "chalked this up as a misdemeanor" and then set the case aside without intending to continue the investigation.

Defense attorney Katrina Barcellona defended the officer in her closing arguments, telling jurors Pollice also involved his supervisor in the investigation.

"Officer Pollice did nothing wrong," she said. "When he had a question, he called his supervisor."

The verdict seemed to catch no one by surprise. Circuit Judge Michael Raiden removed jurors from the courtroom briefly after closing arguments to address an issue about the definition of a firearm under certain state laws. He told the lawyers the jurors would find Johnson not guilty, "if I had to bet."

After the verdict Johnson's mother wiped her eyes as she tried to peer over the shoulders of others in the courtroom to see the jury. As the jurors exited, the woman blew them a kiss.

"Thank y'all," she said.

[ Matthew Pleasant can be reached at matthew.pleasant@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. ]

<p>LAKELAND | Chief Lisa Womack left her meeting with State Attorney Jerry Hill on Friday carrying yet another letter from the prosecutor criticizing what he calls an insufficient investigation by the Lakeland Police Department that he blames for an acquittal in a robbery case.</p><p>The missive details the police department's work following the June 2012 theft of an antique but operable firearm from a Lakeland pawnshop. The business owner told an officer that two young men smashed a glass case, rummaged through the guns sitting inside and stole one.</p><p>Hill criticized the department for a litany of issues, most of them related to an officer's initial investigation. According to his letter, the officer missed evidence, inaccurately recorded details from the business owner's account of the crime and classified it as a misdemeanor with no intention of following up with more investigation.</p><p>An arrest was made in the case about six months later, after the business owner contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office. At the trial this week, the prosecution's case hinged on the owner's identification of a suspect, Sedrick Johnson Jr., 21, from a photo lineup. The defense relied on Officer Nicholas Pollice, who conducted the initial investigation, as its lead witness. </p><p>"As you know, it is often difficult to prove criminal cases involving victim identification," Hill wrote in his letter. "It is especially difficult when a police officer is called as a witness in a trial by the defendant against the state. Officer Pollice's testimony was used by the defense attorney as a way to question the credibility of the victim in the case." </p><p>The problems with the investigation were not lost on jurors during the trial Wednesday. Juror Faye Hudson of Winter Haven told The Ledger after the trial that almost all six jurors cited the apparent poor quality of the LPD investigation during their deliberation. </p><p>"We just felt there was no investigation at all," she said. "We all felt this was a waste of the court's time."</p><p>THE MEETING</p><p>Hill handed the letter to Womack during their meeting Friday at the State Attorney's Office. State Attorney's Office spokesman Brian Haas declined to discuss the details of the conversation but confirmed the robbery investigation did come up.</p><p>Womack did not respond to a request to discuss the letter. However, she briefly addressed reporters outside the State Attorney's Office immediately after the meeting, calling the conversation positive. </p><p>"We're all on the same page," she said.</p><p>The meeting came after two Lakeland city commissioners, Howard Wiggs and Don Selvage, urged Womack to talk with Hill after he hand-delivered a scathing letter to her about the department June 25, detailing an investigation by his office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that uncovered widespread sexual misconduct in the agency.</p><p>Lakeland lawyer Bob Puterbaugh, who had arranged the talk between Womack and Hill, stayed outside the meeting, she said, and was not acting as her lawyer. </p><p>"Mr. Puterbaugh didn't come as my attorney," she said. "I've know him for a while, and he's known the State Attorney for 40 years and he wasn't here representing me as an attorney at all. He just drove down with me and sat in the lobby."</p><p>LPD INVESTIGATION</p><p>In his letter, Hill criticized Officer Pollice for spending little more than an hour investigating the crime and failing to take pictures of the damaged glass case from which the gun was stolen. Pollice also did not collect an old electric iron used to smash open the case as evidence, nor was the item checked for fingerprints. And he did not collect a written or taped statement from the business owner, Mark Williams, Hill states.</p><p>In his report on the crime, Pollice wrote that Williams didn't know for certain a gun was stolen from his store, even though he also wrote that Williams could describe certain details about the weapon's appearance. Pollice states Williams could not describe the firearm "with confidence or at least with confidence that an item was stolen outside of his speculation." For that reason, Pollice wrote, he decided to classify it as criminal mischief.</p><p>Williams contacted the Polk County Sheriff's Office in November after seeing news reports about deputies investigating a robbery attempt and shooting at a Lakeland farmers' market, according to Hill. A deputy developed Sedrick Johnson as a suspect. Hill notes in his letter that Johnson is a relative of one of the farmers' market shooting suspects. </p><p>Williams testified at trial that Johnson was among a group of teenagers who had frequented his store in the weeks preceding the robbery.</p><p>The young men would ask questions about a $300 antique gun in a glass case. In the robbery that occurred, the young men took the same antique gun, Williams testified, plucking it from among firearms worth hundreds more. </p><p>Hill noted other problems that went beyond the initial investigation. LPD Detective Christina Barrett never mentioned in a report that she had recorded an interview with Johnson after his arrest, he said. She didn't disclose the recording until the day before trial. Barrett also failed to hand over a Miranda rights waiver, a form that a suspect signs acknowledging that he or she has signed away certain rights, including the right to remain silent.</p><p>"Much to the surprise of prosecutors (and with no notice to the state), Detective Barrett arrived with the Miranda Rights Waiver form the morning of the trial with no explanation of why she wasn't able to find it the day before in the LPD evidence room," the letter states.</p><p>Barrett also mistakenly noted on a report that the stolen firearm has been recovered, he said, and only corrected it after the State Attorney's Office brought it to her attention. </p><p>Williams spoke to The Ledger on Friday at his business, Lakeland Gun and Pawn Shop at 701 S. Florida Ave. He thinks the police department realized the difficulty it would have solving the case, he said, and that factored into its decision to classify the case as a lesser crime.</p><p>"It's unfortunate that LPD wouldn't do more initially and it was written off," Williams said.</p><p>The length of time it took to make an arrest, and the acquittal, didn't seem to bother him.</p><p>"I'm 57. You can't be old and bitter," he said. "It was a mistake. I don't think it was a malicious issue."</p><p>THE TRIAL</p><p>At trial, lawyers did not explicitly address problems with Lakeland Police Department's investigative work. Rather, the issue of whether it was sufficient became a subtext in closing arguments and at certain points in testimony.</p><p>Assistant State Attorney Brenda Ramirez asked Officer Pollice whether it would have been better to take pictures of the crime scene when he initially investigated in June 2012, instead of six months later when the Sheriff's Office became involved.</p><p>"Hypothetically," Pollice said, "it would have been better."</p><p>Questions by Ramirez underscored some of the same issues raised in Hill's letter. In her closing arguments, she told jurors LPD "chalked this up as a misdemeanor" and then set the case aside without intending to continue the investigation.</p><p>Defense attorney Katrina Barcellona defended the officer in her closing arguments, telling jurors Pollice also involved his supervisor in the investigation.</p><p>"Officer Pollice did nothing wrong," she said. "When he had a question, he called his supervisor."</p><p>The verdict seemed to catch no one by surprise. Circuit Judge Michael Raiden removed jurors from the courtroom briefly after closing arguments to address an issue about the definition of a firearm under certain state laws. He told the lawyers the jurors would find Johnson not guilty, "if I had to bet."</p><p>After the verdict Johnson's mother wiped her eyes as she tried to peer over the shoulders of others in the courtroom to see the jury. As the jurors exited, the woman blew them a kiss.</p><p>"Thank y'all," she said. </p><p>[ Matthew Pleasant can be reached at matthew.pleasant@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. ]</p>